A Dwarf's Journey to Defend the North
by Knight of Kanto
Summary: When a routine scouting mission goes wrong it falls to a dwarf and an unexpected companion to rally the north to fight the forces of evil.


Hey guys this is my first attempt at writing a Lord of the Rings fanfiction. The LOTR series is one of my favourite books/movies/games so I really wanted to try writing something for it.

This story is gonna be set around during the War of the Ring several of the main characters like the Fellowship will appear but in general won't play a big role.

Since I'm not going to use a lot of characters from the lore I will require some OC's. So PM me any OC's you come up with.

I hope you'll enjoy this story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Lord of the Rings(sadly)

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><p>A war band of dwarves were marching through a series of mountains that surrounded the great dwarven fortress of Haraz-Nasur. The snow that covered the ground all year round crunched under their metallic boots and flecks of snow got caught in their beards which like their faces and armour were covered in grime and black blood. A few of them had taken some wounds during the recent battles causing their own blood to mix with their dead enemies. However none of this seemed to bother the soldiers in fact many of them were trying to prove who's wound was more impressive.<p>

As the unit marched two dwarves quickened the pace and were now slightly ahead of the group clearly leading the way. One was a larger dwarf who looked like he could rip a trolls arms out of it's sockets. He wielded a very heavy two handed axe which had several runic designs along the handle and the bulky plate armour he wore was far more ornate than the soldiers that marched behind him showing his elite status in the dwarven army. He had a thick brown beard that went down to his waist, his eyes were dark brown which matched his beard and his hair was hidden under the helmet he wore.

The other dwarf had a smaller build however he was still a dwarf which meant he looked like he could crush someone's neck like a grape. In each hand he carried a hand axe and several knives that were forged for throwing were attached to his belt. His armour didn't look as impressive as the first dwarf's due to his being light armour that only covered the vital areas instead of being full body armour. It provided less protection but gave him much more manoeuvrability. His rusty coloured beard was far shorter than the other dwarf's as it barely reached his chest, his hair on the other hand trailed down his back. His dark green eyes were looking around the area trying to spot any potential threats to them.

"Hey Gorit you seem on edge. You need to chill out and stop thinking that everything is gonna jump out and kill us. Sometimes I think you're a little too aware of your surroundings." the larger dwarf said.

"Well Radek I have to make up for you since you're about as aware as you were after you lost that drinking contest against Doken." Gorit replied.

"Hey Doken cheated me! I drank ten times more than he did."

"It was who could drink the longest not who could drink the most before passing out. He didn't cheat he just outsmarted you which isn't particularly difficult."

"Go to hell Gorit. If you're so smart why don't you challenge him when we get home?"

"I don't drink in excess like that and besides if I was doing that I couldn't win so much coin on betting against you. By the way I must thank you again for that drinking match against Doken, I won a lot of coin that day."

Radek was about to reply when he heard something above him screech. He looked up and saw a goblin wearing rusty armour aiming a serrated dagger at him. Before Radek could raise his axe to block the attack a hand axe hacked into the goblins head. Radek watched as the goblins eyes rolled back, the dagger fell from it's limp hand as it and he slumped to the ground. A second axe was then embedded in the goblins skull cracking it open and making fragments of its skull and a lot of its blood stain the snow. Radek looked away from the goblin to his right and saw Gorit smirking at him.

"Not a damn word!" Radek growled.

"I wasn't gonna say a thing."

Radek looked at his friend and shook his head, he then spotted the goblins dagger and picked it up. He closely examined the blade and that it was coated in some sort of liquid. Some of the ooze dripped off of the blade and made a sizzling noise when it touched the snow and scorched the ground beneath it. Radek knew of only one thing that had that effect.

"This blade is drenched in spider venom." Radek stated.

"I'm starting to get the feeling that we were lied to." Gorit said as he yanked his axes out of the goblins skull.

"Yeah, routine scouting mission my arse."

"Then again we're getting to kill goblins so that's not necessarily a bad thing."

"Hang on a second we've already fought four groups of goblins in the last hour."

"Stop complaining Radek. I really don't see the problem here."

"The problem Gorit is that we've lost seven dwarves in those four fights. When you only start with fifty that's a pretty big deal."

"You do have a point there but King Galain ordered us to make sure the borders were safe. We've been taken by surprise far too many times lately which has lead to Haraz-Nasur losing some of its finest warriors in battles we weren't ready for."

"Well I think we should head back before Haraz-Nasur loses this group of warriors."

"Come on we only have one more area to check."

"Fine we'll check the last location. Then we are going back to the fortress."

Gorit nodded and then took the lead.

"I swear he's gonna be the death of me." Radek muttered.

Radek sighed and then signalled for the rest of the soldiers to follow him.

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><p>After marching for half an hour the war band finally reached the last area they needed to check. They had all let out a relieved sigh when they had found nothing in the area except Gorit who was sure that something wasn't right. He had been taught skills more associated with the Dunedain from a young age by his father who had fought alongside the Dunedain for many years. Those skills were now screaming that something was here hiding from them and waiting for them to lower their guard.<p>

"Be on guard. There is something here." Gorit whispered.

Gorit felt someone grab his shoulder, he turned around and saw Halreg who had trained him and Radek.

"You're too damn paranoid Gorit. There's nothing to worry abou..." the old dwarf was cut off by an arrow that was now embedded in his throat. The old dwarf collapsed and clutched his throat which now had blood pouring from it. Gorit got to his knees and watched feeling completely useless as the life faded from Halreg's eyes.

"HALREG!" Gorit roared.

Suddenly a horde of goblins burst out of the ground while a pack of wargs charged out of the tree line. Radek felt the ground beneath him shake so he quickly moved to the side as a goblin emerged from the ground and screeched. The goblins screech was stopped when Radek decapitated it with his axe. A few feet away Radek saw a dwarf pulled to the ground and then several goblins leapt on him stabbing him repeatedly. It was clear that this was a battle they could not win, the goblins outnumbered them and more seemed to be coming every second.

"RETREAT! FALL BACK TO HARAZ-NASUR!" Radek commanded.

The surviving dwarves nodded and started to make a fighting retreat. Radek looked at the group and was worried when he didn't see Gorit fighting alongside them. He scanned the area and saw Gorit standing by Halreg's lifeless corpse slaughtering anything that dared to come near them. Radek quickly ran to his friends side and swung his axe into a goblins stomach. The sharpened edge cut through its weak armour like it was butter and created a massive gash. Radek felt a familiar sense of disgust as he watched the goblins entrails fall out of the gash. He shook away the feeling and looked his oldest friend.

"Gorit we have to get out of here."

"I'm not leaving him."

Radek grabbed Gorit roughly by his shoulders and violently shook him.

"He's dead Gorit. HE'S DEAD!"

Gorit looked at Halreg one last time and nodded knowing Radek was right.

"Ok let's go."

Radek nodded and led Gorit towards the rest of their company who were on the other side of a rock formation that was only accessible by a small gap fighting off the group of goblins that had attacked them. Gorit wondered how the dwarves had squeezed through the gap so quickly but disposed of that thought and focussed on reaching their fellow dwarves. Just as Gorit and Radek were about to reach the gap a boulder flew over their heads and crashed into the cliffs. The impact caused some of the rocks to dislodge which started a landslide which blocked the gap cutting Gorit and Radek off from the others. They tried to move the boulders that were now blocking their path but despite their best efforts they were unable to move them. The sounds of axes hitting the boulders could then be heard as their companions tried to help Gorit and Radek.

A screech suddenly came from behind Gorit and Radek, they turned around and saw about forty goblins with a Cave Troll and a large goblin who appeared to be the leader of the group. Gorit and Radek both knew that there was nothing their companions could do to help them now.

"Get back to Haraz-Nasur and warn them about what has happened!" Gorit yelled

"But what about you two?"

"Don't worry about us we'll meet you there." Radek replied.

Gorit and Radek heard their companions grumbling on the other side of the boulders until they heard a sigh.

"We shall do as you asked. Good luck." one of the dwarves said reluctantly.

The two dwarves glared at the goblin leader as they heard the sound of metallic boots marching away and readied their weapons. To the dwarves surprise the goblins just stared at them as if they were waiting for them to attack. After a couple of minutes of both sides looking at each other Gorit had finally had enough. He let out a dwarven battle cry and charged at the nearest goblin, he swung his axes at the creature and one bit into its skull and the other was embedded in its chest. He pulled his axes free and then saw a blade headed his way out of the corner of his eye. He quickly reacted by leaping to the right and was about to strike when a massive axe decapitated the goblin.

Gorit and Radek then heard another screech and looked at the goblin leader who was pointing his blade at them. The entire goblin horde then charged except for the leader and the Cave Troll. The former growled angrily as he watched the dwarves fight back to back killing anything that got close to them and the latter was trying to break free from the chains that restrained him.

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><p>The battle was incredibly one sided as the dwarves dispatched the goblins although they had both taken several minor cuts and had sweat pouring down their their blood and grime covered faces. Gorit and Radek looked at the goblin who was glaring at them with pure hatred in his eyes, the chains trapping the troll were then broken by the goblin and it charged at the dwarves. Gorit smirked as he watched the troll get closer.<p>

"I've got the troll." Gorit said.

"Okay I'll take the goblin then." Radek replied.

Gorit had already started running at the troll and he quickly rolled under the trolls hammer swing. He instantly buried his axes into the trolls right calf making it roar in pain and fall to one knee. Seeing his chance Gorit jumped on to the trolls back and was about was send his axe crashing into its skull when he was grabbed and thrown into the boulders that had blocked their path. Gorit groaned as he pushed himself to his feet and he winced in pain as he felt a sharp pain in his left side. He was forced to ignore the pain as he saw the trolls hammer descending towards him and he threw himself to his right. The trolls hammer slammed into the ground where Gorit had been and was embedded in the ground. The troll tried to pull its hammer free but it was stuck so he abandoned the weapon and turned his attention back to the dwarf who had got back to his feet.

Meanwhile Radek and the goblin leader were exchanging blows, blood was trickling from the multitude of wounds that littered their bodies. In an attempt to end this fight and help Gorit fight the troll Radek swung his axe at the goblins throat but it dodged the swing using its superior speed and retaliated by plunging its blade into Radek's stomach. Radek looked at the goblin who was smirking at him and threw his fist into its face. The goblin screeched in pain as blood flowed freely from its now shattered nose. Radek then used all the strength he could muster and swing his axe at the goblin again creating a gash down its right side. The goblin backed away from Radek momentarily to regain his strength and then charged at the dwarf again.

Gorit dodged another swing of the trolls arm, he was struggling to avoid all of the trolls attempts at striking him. The impact on the wall had badly affected his ability to counter attack due to him having to recover after every dodge so although he was able to dodge the troll he couldn't take advantage of the situation. Gorit decided to change tactic and placed one of his axes back into on of the pouches on his belt. He then pulled one of his throwing daggers out and after dodging another attack he threw the dagger at the trolls head. A satisfied smirk came to his face as the troll roared in pain and tried to remove the dagger that was now in his right eye. As the troll flailed around Gorit ran at it and used his axe to slice the trolls jugular. After a few seconds the troll collapsed forcing Gorit to roll away to avoid the massive creature falling on him.

Gorit struggled back to his feet just in time to see the goblins blade pierce Radek's chest. He watched in horror as the axe fell from Radek's hand and he collapsed. The goblin then withdrew his blade and was about to plunge it down to finish Radek off when a dagger pierced his shoulder. The goblin fell back and started pulling the blade out of his shoulder. Gorit quickly ran to Radek's side and knelt next to him. Radek saw Gorit next to him and placed his right hand on Gorit's left shoulder. Gorit mimicked the gesture and watched sadly as blood trickled from his friends mouth.

"Tell my family that I love them." Radek said as he coughed up some blood.

"No Radek, you're going to tell them. You're not dying on me."

"Goodbye my friend it has been a honour fighting alongside you."

Radek gave Gorit a small smile and then his eyes closed as he took his final breath. Tears threatened to fall from Gorit's eyes. He hadn't cried for so damn long but in the last hour he'd lost two of the most important people to him. He fought down the tears and stood up taking Radek's axe with him. This creature had killed Radek and it would be Radek's axe that got revenge. He swung the axe at the large goblin which jumped back to avoid the attack. He took another swing and this time caught the goblins left arm biting into the flesh and mangling its arm. The creature screeched in pain and randomly thrust his blade at Gorit which pierced his right leg. The dwarf didn't seem phased by the attack though as he was running on hatred and a desire to kill the goblin.

As the battle raged on Gorit knew that if he'd been wielding his light hand axes this goblin would be dead by now however Radek's two handed axe was much heavier than anything he was used to. The goblin leapt forward and swung his blade at Gorit forcing the dwarf to use all of his strength to raise Radek's axe to parry the blow. He succeeded in blocking the attack however the force of the attack made him stagger back.

The goblin saw the opportunity to strike and quickly launched a barrage of strikes that Gorit was struggling to block, Gorit hissed in pain as the goblin darted forward and slashed his side opening a small cut. The dwarf could feel his strength sapping as all of his wounds finally caught up with him, he fell to one knee and watched as the goblin leapt at him again. He let out a battle-cry and swung Radek's axe up carving a huge gash from the goblins stomach to it's head. The goblin fell to the ground and his guts slowly spilled out of the opening. Gorit roared and raise the axe sending it down on the Goblin's neck severing its neck. Gorit spat on the dead goblins corpse and smirked until suddenly he felt something crash into his skull and everything went black.

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><p><span>Notes<span>

So there you have it guys that is chapter 1 – so what did you think?

Please leave a review telling me what you liked/didn't like.


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